Fraud-hit PMC Banks Approaches Banks Over Possible Merger, Reveals Report

India's fraud-hit PMC Bank has approached other banks over a possible merger even as its efforts to recover funds from a big borrower have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the bank's administrator said in a court filing seen by Reuters.

Authorities started investigating Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC) for fraud last year and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took control of it after detecting financial irregularities. Thousands of PMC depositors have been unable to access their deposits for a year as the RBI has capped withdrawals at Rs 1,00,000.

PMC has "tried to engage with the major banks of the country to request for a merger", the bank's administrator said in a Sept. 10 filing at the Delhi High Court, without identifying the banks or giving other details.